PROFILE: Fostering Community at Brookland's Mess Hall Culinary Incubator

From the (many, many) restaurants that have opened on and around 14th St NW, to the dozens of food trucks prowling the city’s streets in search of hungry office workers, to the the half-dozen microbreweries offering their quaffs to a thirsty public, it’s clear that Washington, DC, is in the midst of a food renaissance. Say you wanted to get in on this action, perhaps starting a food truck as a trial for a brick-and-mortar store, or making money off your grandma’s special barbecue sauce recipe. In order to actually produce your product, you must have access to a licensed kitchen. Oftentimes, this has involved either finding a restaurant willing to rent you their kitchen during the odd-hours of the night when most of us have long since gone to our beds; or, ideally, renting space from a shared-space commercial kitchen. For a long time, DC-area food entrepreneurs had to venture into the suburbs in order to find a commercial kitchen. But now, the city’s on the verge of welcoming its fourth.

Northeast DC’s Mess Hall culinary incubator is the latest in a growing number of non-restaurant food businesses located in the now-burgeoning Brookland neighborhood. (Near neighbors include Union Market, Union Kitchen, DC Brau, and Chocolate City Brewery, which is located across the street.) The brainchild of food-industry veteran Al Goldberg, Mess Hall has been in the works for four years, three of which were spent finding the right space in DC. A self-described “DC guy,” Goldberg never dreamed of opening Mess Hall in Maryland or Virginia. “‘DC Pride’ is a real thing,” he says via email. “I wholeheartedly believe that others are proud to celebrate their city and the goods being produced here.”

“More people want their food to be made by loving hands, not a factory,” he writes. “We want ingredients that shine on their own, not processed with a list of unpronounceable chemicals. Overall, people are open to new tastes, fresh, wholesome ingredients, and they want a story to go with it. We’re hearing ‘Let’s ask the farmer!’ and ‘I want to meet the producer.’”

At Mess Hall, this will translate into providing its members access to resources such as mentorships, capital, and more. “We want to support growth and create a true food community,” Goldberg says. Seeking members from diverse backgrounds, “a love of local food and mutual respect for community members will be the common thread,” he continues. “Allowing for synergy, learning, and collaborating are ideals that we wish to instill, and I plan to foster that every step of the way.”

And if you wanted to meet a producer who works out of Mess Hall, you can. Beyond the shiny new appliances in the incubator’s four kitchens, it will also offer a raw event space, which will allow members to test market concepts and get real-time feedback, Goldberg says.

“Beyond our own internal community,” he adds, “We want to bring the surrounding community in. We will use the event space/demonstration kitchen to provide cooking classes for the local schools. I feel it’s really important to teach kids how to cook nutritious, wholesome foods while making it fun – and potentially providing a pathway to a career some may never have even thought about before. There will be other classes too – and our members are privy to the space as well. The possibilities are really endless.”

Mess Hall plans to open shortly after Labor Day. More more information, visit Mess Hall’s website at messhalldc.com.